April 8, 2020 Wednesday of Holy Week
2020년 4월 8일 성주간 수요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
이사야서. 50,4-9ㄴ
4 주 하느님께서는 나에게 제자의 혀를 주시어
지친 이를 말로 격려할 줄 알게 하신다.
그분께서는 아침마다 일깨워 주신다.
내 귀를 일깨워 주시어 내가 제자들처럼 듣게 하신다.
5 주 하느님께서 내 귀를 열어 주시니
나는 거역하지도 않고 뒤로 물러서지도 않았다.
6 나는 매질하는 자들에게 내 등을,
수염을 잡아 뜯는 자들에게 내 뺨을 내맡겼고
모욕과 수모를 받지 않으려고 내 얼굴을 가리지도 않았다.
7 그러나 주 하느님께서 나를 도와주시니 나는 수치를 당하지 않는다.
그러기에 나는 내 얼굴을 차돌처럼 만든다.
나는 부끄러운 일을 당하지 않을 것임을 안다.
8 나를 의롭다 하시는 분께서 가까이 계시는데
누가 나에게 대적하려는가?
우리 함께 나서 보자. 누가 나의 소송 상대인가? 내게 다가와 보아라.
9 보라, 주 하느님께서 나를 도와주시는데 나를 단죄하는 자 누구인가?
복음
마태오. 26,14-25
14 그때에 열두 제자 가운데 하나로
유다 이스카리옷이라는 자가 수석 사제들에게 가서,
15 “내가 그분을 여러분에게 넘겨주면
나에게 무엇을 주실 작정입니까?” 하고 물었다.
그들은 은돈 서른 닢을 내주었다.
16 그때부터 유다는 예수님을 넘길 적당한 기회를 노렸다.
17 무교절 첫날에 제자들이 예수님께 다가와,
“스승님께서 잡수실 파스카 음식을
어디에 차리면 좋겠습니까?” 하고 물었다.
18 그러자 예수님께서 이르셨다. “도성 안으로 아무개를 찾아가,
‘선생님께서 ′나의 때가 가까웠으니
내가 너의 집에서 제자들과 함께 파스카 축제를 지내겠다.′하십니다.’ 하여라.”
19 제자들은 예수님께서 분부하신 대로 파스카 음식을 차렸다.
20 저녁때가 되자 예수님께서 열두 제자와 함께 식탁에 앉으셨다.
21 그들이 음식을 먹고 있을 때에 예수님께서 말씀하셨다.
“내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
너희 가운데 한 사람이 나를 팔아넘길 것이다.”
22 그러자 그들은 몹시 근심하며 저마다
“주님, 저는 아니겠지요?” 하고 묻기 시작하였다.
23 예수님께서 그들에게 대답하셨다.
“나와 함께 대접에 손을 넣어 빵을 적시는 자, 그자가 나를 팔아넘길 것이다.
24 사람의 아들은 자기에 관하여 성경에 기록된 대로 떠나간다.
그러나 불행하여라, 사람의 아들을 팔아넘기는 그 사람!
그 사람은 차라리 태어나지 않았더라면 자신에게 더 좋았을 것이다.”
25 예수님을 팔아넘길 유다가 “스승님, 저는 아니겠지요?” 하고 묻자,
예수님께서 그에게 “네가 그렇게 말하였다.” 하고 대답하셨다.
April 8, 2020
Wednesday of Holy Week
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Is 50:4-9a
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let him confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother's sons,
because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak,
I looked for sympathy, but there was none;
for consolers, not one could I find.
Rather they put gall in my food,
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I will praise the name of God in song,
and I will glorify him with thanksgiving:
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not."
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Gospel
Mt 26:14-25
went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?"
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?"
He said,
"Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
'The teacher says, AMy appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples."'"
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
"Surely it is not I, Lord?"
He said in reply,
"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born."
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
He answered, "You have said so."
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«Truly, I say to you: one of you will betray me»
Fr. Raimondo M. SORGIA Mannai OP
(San Domenico di Fiesole, Florencia, Italy)
Today, the Gospel proposes us —at least— three considerations. The first one is that, when our love for God cools off, then our will yields to other temptations, where voluptuousness seems to offer us more savorous dishes while, in fact, they are prepared with degrading and disturbing poisons. Given our congenital fragility, we should not allow the fire of our fervor to cool down, fervor which if not sensibly, at least mentally, links us to him, who has loved us to the point of giving his life for us.
The second consideration refers to the mysterious election of the place where Jesus wants to celebrate His Paschal Supper. «Go into the city, to the house of a certain man, and tell him: ‘The Master says: My hour is near, and I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples in your house’» (Mt 26:8). Maybe, the master of the house was not one of our Lord's confirmed friends, but he must have had a very good ear to be able to listen to his “inside” calls. Our Lord would have spoken to him intimately —as He so often does with us—, throughout a thousand incentives, so that he would open his door. His imagination and omnipotence, which support his infinite love for us, have no limits and express themselves in ways always apt to every personal situation. When we hear his call we have to “surrender”, by leaving aside all sophisms and by happily accepting this “liberator messenger”. It is just as if someone would come to our prison door and would invite us, as the Angel did with Peter, by saying: «Arise up quickly!» (Acts 12:7).
The third motive of meditation is offered to us by the traitor who is trying to conceal his crime before the Omniscient's keen stare. Adam had already tried it, and later on, Cain his son, too, but both to no avail. Before becoming our most exacting Judge, God appears before us as a father and a mother, who do not surrender to the idea of losing their son. Jesus' heart suffers not so much because of the betrayal as it does with the realization that a son is irretrievably going astray from him.
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Holy Week, 2020, and a pandemic rages across the world. Go back 102 years to April, 1918 (Easter was on March 31 that year) and the inception of what would become the world-wide flu pandemic. An April public health document reported 18 severe flu cases and 3 deaths in Haskell, Kansas. Armies of U.S. soldiers were preparing to and in fact deploying to France during the spring and summer, social distancing was not widespread, and deaths spiked significantly in the U.S., especially on the east coast. As I write this reflection, we are anticipating very high death rates in the U.S. I hope that you are as safe as can be in these distressing times.
The gospel today speaks to me of grace and forgiveness when confronted with betrayal. I don’t know how much Jesus really knew would happen to Him in the twenty-four hours following His supper with the apostles, but He certainly had strong premonitions that the powers in Jerusalem were not pleased, and that their displeasure usually resulted in grave consequences for the target of their ire. He observes that His appointed time is near, and that one of His companions would be a betrayer. From Matthew’s telling, the disciples seemed more distressed at this news than does Jesus, but I find it interesting that their distress was not that one of their companions was a betrayer, but rather that one of them might be falsely branded as the culprit. They do not ask “Lord why do you think you will be betrayed?” or “Shall we move you to a place of safety from this betrayal?” Nor did they organize themselves to protect Him. Instead each ask in turn if he is the guilty party. Wouldn’t they know if they were the betrayer?
One powerful form of prayer in the Spiritual Exercises is to place oneself in a setting, to imagine interacting with the parties in the story, and to observe the participants and one’s own reactions. When I do that, I can see Jesus interact with Judas. I can see in His gaze the complex emotions He must have felt – His look of pain, of utter disappointment, coupled with a transcending spirit of understanding, love and forgiveness. I also see the look in Judas’ eyes as he suddenly understands the depth of his actions, the incredible hurt that he sees Jesus experience, and the sinking realization of how wrong he has been, and what the coming consequences of his actions will be.
And then I reflect on my own life, and ask: How many times have I betrayed Jesus by my actions, my neglect, my selfishness, my indifference, my inability to respond with charitable love when I am harmed by someone? Have I observed and understood the look in Jesus’ eyes when He sees me, and what I have done to betray Him? How shameful am I that I have caused Jesus to feel pain, and disappointment? Why is it that I can’t keep from causing Him pain again, and again, and again, as my human failings outweigh my good intentions to live up to what Jesus calls me to do?
And then I feel the wonder, the mystery, the incredible joy of knowing that Jesus understands my humanity and all my shortcomings, still loves me in spite of the hurt I have caused Him, that He has forgiven me, has soothed my heart, has told me to try again to do what He asks, to learn from my betrayals, to become better in Him. I know I likely will betray Him again, but for the moment, I feel at peace because He has touched me with a healing word, a look in His eye, a soothing of my inner being.
And so, my prayer today is to be ever mindful of how I have and can and will continue to betray Jesus, and for the grace and strength to avoid betrayals by being the person God calls me to be.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
DO YOUR ACTIONS BETRAY GOD? | ||
| Judas "kept looking for an opportunity to hand [Jesus] over." �Matthew 26:16 | ||
Judas was disappointed in Jesus. Like many Jews of his time, Judas likely expected the Messiah to be a nationalistic hero, one who would cast out the occupying Roman armies and liberate Jerusalem. In spending three years with Jesus, Judas gradually came to realize that Jesus was not interested in being the kind of Messiah Jews expected. Jesus made it clear to the apostles that He was interested in freeing people from sin (see e.g. Jn 8:34-36). He also made it clear that He accepted people from all nations (see e.g. Mt 12:21). Jesus accepted suffering and He gave liberally to the poor. Judas began his apostleship by performing great works of power in casting out demons. That must have been exhilarating. But gradually, Jesus taught that His ministry was not based on worldly values. Day after day, Judas' hopes were dashed. Judas Iscariot is an example for us today. How does God "disappoint" us now? By promoting chastity or poverty? By not answering your prayers as you had hoped when you took the big step of praying in front of your unbelieving family members? By allowing weakness and suffering? By allowing a loved one to die? By failing to punish the wicked? By promoting mercy and forgiveness rather than punishing those who hurt you? We must constantly be on the watch, lest we, like Judas, betray God to others out of disappointed hopes. | ||
| Prayer: Father, set a guard over my mouth and heart so that I may never betray You. May all my actions, words, and thoughts glorify You (1 Cor 10:31). | ||
| Promise: "The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them." —Is 50:4 | ||
| Praise: Carol's patient love of her children was a main factor in the eventual return of both children to the Lord and the Church. |
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
The tragedy of the betrayal
Why did Judas betray his Master? Was his treachery motivated by greed, bitter disappointment with Jesus, or hatred because of disillusionment? It may be that Judas never intended for his Master to die. Maybe he thought Jesus was proceeding too slowly and not acting aggressively enough in setting up his messianic kingdom. Perhaps Judas wanted to force Jesus' hand by compelling him to act. Nonetheless, his tragedy was his refusal to accept Jesus as he was.
The power of greed can only be overcome with the power of Christ's love poured out for us
Origen (185-254 AD), a bible scholar and early church father, comments on Judas' betrayal:
"Let us consider what Judas said to the Jewish priests: What will you give me if I hand him over to you? He was willing to take money in exchange for handing over the Word of God. They do the same thing who accept sensual or worldly goods in exchange for handing over and casting out from their souls the Savior and Word of truth who came to dwell with them. Indeed, it would be fitting to apply Judas's example to all who show contempt for the Word of God and betray him, as it were, by committing sin for the sake of money or for any selfish motive. People who behave in this way appear openly to be calling out to the powers of the enemy who offer worldly gain in return for the sin of betraying God's Word, saying, What will you give me if I hand him over to you? And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.The number of coins they gave Judas was equivalent to the number of years the Savior had sojourned in this world. For at the age of thirty, he was baptized and began to preach the gospel, like Joseph was thirty years old when he began to gather grain for his brothers (Genesis 41:46). Just as at that time the grain was prepared by God for the sons of Israel but given also to the Egyptians, so also the gospel was prepared for the saints but preached also to the unfaithful and wicked." (Commentary on Matthew 78.)
The Lord will test our hearts to show us where we need his love and strength to do his will
Jesus knew beforehand what would befall him. As Jesus ate his last supper meal with his twelve apostles he put them under trial and suspicion (one of you will betray me) to teach them to examine themselves rightly, lest they be high-minded and think themselves more strong than they were. We, also must examine ourselves in the light of God's truth and grace and ask him to strengthen us in faith, hope, and love that we may not fail him or forsake him when we are tempted. Do you pray with confidence in the words Jesus gave us to pray: Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13)?
"God our Father, we are exceedingly frail and indisposed to every virtuous and gallant undertaking. Strengthen our weakness, we beseech you, that we may do valiantly in this spiritual war; help us against our own negligence and cowardice, and defend us from the treachery of our unfaithful hearts; for Jesus Christ's sake." (Prayer of Thomas a Kempis)
Psalm 69:8-10, 21-22, 31-34
8 I have become a stranger to my brethren, an alien to my mother's sons.
9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10 When I humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.
21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their own table before them become a snare; let their sacrificial feasts be a trap.
31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the LORD hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves therein.
A Daily Quote for Lent: God's help for a complete conversion, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"When we transform our old life and give our spirit a new image, we find it hard and tiring to turn back from the darkness of earthly passions to the serene calm of the divine light. We thus ask God to help us that a complete conversion may be brought about in us." (excerpt from Confessions 10,4)
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